Mumbai, Sep 4, - Axis Bank which is India's third largest private bank has been featured in Forbes Asia's FAB 50 list of 2014. This is the fourth time that Axis Bank has been featured and is amongst the only two banks in this renowned list.

The FAB 50 comprises of the best of Asia-Pacific's biggest publicly traded companies, chosen from a pool of 1,300 companies in the region that have at least USD 3 billion in market cap or annual revenue.

These companies are further screened on the basis of a long series of performance measures. Axis Bank is amongst a dozen Indian corporate firms featured in this list.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced that it had set up an expert panel to review governance of bank boards and make recommendations.

Headed by former Axis Bank CEO PJ Nayak, the panel will review the RBI's regulatory guidelines on ownership of banks and representation in their boards, among other things.

The eight-member panel will also determine if there is any clash of interest in board representation. In addition, it will assess and review the `fit & proper' criteria for all categories of directors of banks.

Banks are unlikely to offer any festive discounts on products like auto loans and home loans this year as they are struggling to cope with increased funding costs.

During the festive season (Diwali and Christmas), demand for bank products like auto loans and home loans picks up across the country; almost all banks offer attractive discounts to attract more and more customers.

But, many bankers have hinted that ongoing macroeconomic conditions will not leave banks in a position to offer any discounts during the festive season.

Two major private-sector lenders Yes Bank and Axis Bank on Wednesday revised their lending and deposit rates upwards; just a day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained the status quo on its key policy rate.

Axis Bank in Tuesday announced the launch a new co-branded credit card that offers a blend of insurance and a number of travel benefits for international frequent flyers.

Available in two versions, viz. World Select and World, the card will allow holders to enjoy reward points redeemable with Europe-based international frequent flyer program Miles & More's partners across various sectors like flights, hotels, car rentals and retail stores.

The central bank imposed a fine of Rs 5 crore on Axis Bank, and of Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 1 crore on HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, respectively.

A statement released by the central bank stated, "After considering the facts of each case ... Reserve Bank came to conclusion that some of the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty..."

The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has found irregularities at private-sector banks ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, but the government will not take any action in a hurry, Banking Secretary Rajiv Takru said.

The central bank launched an investigation into the to three private lenders' practices after a sting operation revealed that the banks are helping customers evade taxes via money-laundering.

Aniruddha Bahal, whjo is behind some major sting operations in the country exposing large scams, has discussed the latest Operation Red Spider with the media.

The new operation was aimed at exposing the nexus between India's top three private banks and politicians. The operations unearthed the money laundering activities at the banks in the country. The operation as conducted by a single reported working at CobraPost. The operation was conducted by CobraPost's associate editor Syed Masroor Hasan.

Indian bank, Axis Bank has launched an investigation after it was alleged that the bank is involved in money laundering activities.

The bank said that it will conduct a thorough investigation into the information that surfaced regarding the alleged money laundering activities at the bank. It said that the management looks at deviations form tis high standards very seriously.

Indian Stock Markets continued in the positive territory on Thursday as the US markets gained smartly on Wednesday. Stock prices of Gold Loan companies witnessed huge demand after reports of loan valuation for gold ratio increase to 75 per cent.

JSW Steel has increased price of all steel products of the company. The stock price was higher in today's session. Maruti Suzuki and M&M witnessed higher sales during December compared to other auto majors facing tough times.

In a bid to capitalize on the available opportunities in the global market, two Indian lenders - Axis Bank and Indiabulls Financial Services - are seriously mulling plans to set up their offices in London.

Axis Bank has plans to set up its London office sometime early next year. It will be Axis Bank's first branch outside Asia.

Indiabulls Group's financial arm - Indiabulls Financial Services - also has plans to offer non-resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin credit for properties in India.

Kotak Mahindra Bank will soon be announcing quarterly results. The fast growing private bank is expected to declare positive results as per estimates of recent report by Prabhudas Lilladher. Kotak Mahindra Bank is currently trading with a P/E multiple of 41 and is hovering around its 52-week high of 612 on NSE.

HSBC Securities Mauritius is planning to sell its stake in two private sector banks, Axis Bank and Yes Bank, according to various reports citing sources.

The deal to sell stake was routed via block window at a discount of 3 per cent and the shares of the two banks have fallen significantly. The global banking major sold 4.75 per cent stake or 2.05 crore shares in Axis Bank through several block deals. The shares of the bank were trading 3 per cent lower at Rs. 970.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).